Discover Lake George

Lake George combines an unusual basin landscape with lookouts and wine routes in southeastern New South Wales. The area lies north of the border with the Australian Capital Territory. When planning your trip, the question is not only what you would like to see, but also whether you want to focus on the lake, a scenic drive or the wineries.

A shallow basin with a distinctive origin

Lake George is 25 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide, and very shallow. It has no surface outflow: water is lost through evaporation and underground seepage. The landscape is part of a large endorheic basin, formed when the Lake George Escarpment was uplifted 5 million years ago. To the west, the area borders the catchments of the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan; to the east, those of the Hawkesbury and Shoalhaven. This geographic location and history give the area a distinctive character, which you can take in from the lakeside lookouts and along the surrounding routes.

Scenic drives and a variety of stops

Tourist Drive 8 runs alongside Lake George from the Federal Highway to Goulburn. Along the way, it passes through picturesque countryside and villages such as Bungendore and Tarago. On Bungendore Road, it heads south to the region’s cool-climate wineries and the village of Bungendore. This lets you focus your drive on the landscape, towns and wine country, rather than limiting your visit to a single lookout.

Wine, Water, Wonder is also a route with several stops: it passes through Collector, Lake George and the surrounding area, Bungendore and Tarago, and includes visits to several wineries. If you are looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home, it may therefore help to decide first which of these stops is most important to your trip. This way, you can choose your base to suit the experiences you have planned, without treating the different places as a single base.

Weereewa Lookout: views across the lake and wind farms

Weereewa Lookout offers an uninterrupted view across Lake George and the wind farms beyond it. Tourist Drive 8 recommends stopping here to enjoy the expansive view over the lake. The lookout is on the western boundary of Queanbeyan-Palerang, about a 30-minute drive north of Canberra city centre. Auroras have been observed at the lookout; they are a special addition to the view, but cannot be planned for.

Wineries around Lake George

Lerida Estate Winery is at the foot of the Cullerin Range near Lake George. The winery specialises in distinctive wines that reflect their location. Lerida Estate’s café and cellar door are at the winery, at 87 The Vineyards, Lake George, New South Wales 2581. Lake George Winery is another family-owned and family-operated winery on the shores of Lake George, in the Canberra region wine district. The two wineries showcase different aspects of the region’s wine landscape: one at the foot of the Cullerin Range, the other on the lakeshore. They can therefore add a wine-focused element to your trip, alongside scenic views and a drive through the region.

More places to discover

If you would like to extend your trip planning to other places, here are some additional destinations: Jaspers Brush, Vacy, Woodburn, Perisher Valley, Gumly Gumly, Surf Beach, Currans Hill and Woolooware.

For the overview of the wider region: New South Wales.